Convenience store robber sentenced

A man who robbed a Lawrence convenience store last year was ordered by Douglas County Judge Jack Murphy on Tuesday to serve 57 months in prison.

Earlier this month, a jury deliberated several hours before finding Charles E. Smith, 56, guilty of robbing Presto, 2330 Iowa. On Nov. 25, Smith entered the store, asked for a pack of cigarettes and then demanded money.

At that time, Smith was on parole from prison where he had been serving sentences for drug and theft convictions. Those sentences will be completed in January.

Smith's attorney, Jim Rumsey, sought a lesser sentence for the robbery, noting that no one was harmed and that Smith didn't have a gun.

Rumsey also presented a letter to Murphy written by a sheriff's officer. The officer wrote about Smith's good efforts in the jail work-release program.